Swimming? Take Precautions Against This Amoeba

Use a nose clip or don't submerge under water to avoid contracting meningitis from this common amoeba.

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Freshwater swimmers are being warned to wear nose clips as the weather gets warmer.

Florida Department of Health’s Kent Donahue says the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri found in ponds, lakes, and even untreated pools and hot tubs can cause a type of deadly meningitis.

“Unfortunately, it’s almost always fatal. And the amoeba travels up the swimmer’s nose to the brain and spinal cord, it definitely happens during the activities of swimming, diving, skiing, or wake boarding so you want to make sure you take precautions when you’re doing these activities this summer.”

The amoeba infects the back and spine after entering through a swimmer’s nose.

Seven years ago, her 10-year old son Philip went swimming in a lake in Auburndale. About a week later, he died from a brain-eating amoeba that lives in freshwater and enters the body when water is forced up the nose.